My sincere congrats to the 1.2 billion followers of the catholic faith in this joyful moment of celebration and introspection. This pope seem like a very cool and humble guy. Be him blessed. As with the previous pope it will be quite a challenge to fit in the shoes of the worldwide beloved JohnPaul the II. Best wishes and luck to the first Latin American pope. It really helps he is a Jesuit, the catholic elite of education and humanity.

Jimmy Carter carry your own suitcase displays of "humility" did NOTHING to make him a better President much less World leader. Real humility is treating the man or woman in the Street No Differently than the Greatest of Celebrities, World Makers and Shakers or World Leaders! Maybe Pope Francis can achieve this and THEN make the changes that benefit the Humble of the Earth!

Carter's humility made him a better person. Humility isnt respected in political leaders even though in reality the world would be a much better place without everybody blowing their own trumpet all the time.

Until Fukushima, Americans never even realized how lucky they were to have Jimmy Carter as President when Three Mile Island happened.
How Many POTUS has had first-hand experience of Nuclear Meltdowns after all?

I am surprised that no one has yet noted that this is the first non-European pope since the loss of the Middle East by Christendom about... oh I don't know, 1400 years ago. And also the first pope from the southern hemisphere.

It's interesting that a church that's been persecuted for its supposed pedosexuality, elects as its leader a man from a country where child porn is legal (Argentina). When I looked at the list of possible contenders, my first thought was that the Catholic Church would elect a man from a country that doesn't take such a negative view of pedosexuality.

Do you honestly think that any of the Cardinals were concerned about the legal status of child porn during Conclave?
"Yes God, he is a good choice, but is child pornography legal in his country?"
How absurd.
But even conceding the absurdity, the U.S.'s tough child pornography laws (at least tougher than Argentina) didn't seem to deter too many priests in that country.
In short, it is an irrational way to disqualify a pope.

Pope Francis can hardly be held accountable for the numerous shortcomings of Argentina. Of greater relevance is what moral leadership the New Pope displayed in raising the low level of public morality in his homeland. That should be scrutinized thoroughly in the coming weeks and Red Flags should be identified as soon as possible before a New Start gets fizzled out irretrievably.

Re: Pedosexuality within the Church -- what do you mean by 'supposed'? Shouldn't we thank God Popes themselves can never nail 'ya, since they have no genitalia? Nonetheless, upon examining our new Pope's public policy record vis-à-vis gay marriage, the publication "Raw" reminds us:

"As Archbishop of Buenos Aires and Primate of Argentina, Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio — who was named Pope Francis on Wednesday — has spoken out forcefully against laws granting marriage and adoption rights for gay men and lesbians.

In a 2010 letter published in L’Osservatore Romano, Bergoglio asked monasteries to pray “fervently” that lawmakers in Argentina did not go through with plans to legalize same sex marriage because it would 'seriously damage the family.'

'At stake is the identity and survival of the family: father, mother and children,' he wrote. 'At stake are the lives of many children who will be discriminated against in advance, and deprived of their human development given by a father and a mother and willed by God. At stake is the total rejection of God’s law engraved in our hearts.”“Let us not be naive: this is not simply a political struggle, but it is an attempt to destroy God’s plan. It is not just a bill (a mere instrument) but a ‘move’ of the father of lies who seeks to confuse and deceive the children of God.'"

Police in Argentina say they have broken up an international network of paedophiles who swapped pornographic images and videos of children. He said the Argentine police had been alerted to the existence of the ring by Interpol, who in February 2011 had become aware of the existence of websites based in London which were used for sharing the images.

According to the Telegraph and the Washington Post, the below is what the new pope had to say on the issue of the ...

... FALKLAND ISLANDS.

If he really made those statements, he's either a nationalist jerk or a shameless opportunist. Full stop.

"23.20 (22.20)

Pope Francis’s election may cause controversy in Britain over comments he made at a Mass last year for Argentine veterans of the Falklands War to mark 30th anniversary of the 1982 conflict.

He reportedly said at the time: 'We come to pray for those who have fallen, sons of the country who went out to defend their mother country, to reclaim that which is theirs and was usurped from them.'

Addressing relatives of fallen veterans before a visit to the Argentine military cemetery in Darwin in the Falklands in 2009, he said: 'Go and kiss this land which is ours, and seems to us far away.'

He said they would not go alone, adding: 'There are angels who will accompany you, who are sons, husbands and fathers of yours, who fell there, in an almost religious movement, of kissing with their blood the native soil.'"

Why? The British landed on the islands first, and their ownership of those islands was reaffirmed repeatedly by treaties. Anyone who understands basic notions of property and contract law should be able to empathize with the poster's concerns.

it would be strange if Argentinian highly respected citizen would have denounced those soldiers who lost their lives serving their country (different question is who landed first / who is right or wrong, etc. )

That's a distortion. Nobody is asking him to "denounce" the soldiers. The problem is this talk of the "mother country" being "usurped." Certainly you can eulogize the soldiers just as effectively without that jingoism.

I tend to be with you on this one. Doesn't really seem like holy-man material, does he? He basically supported the military regime in Argentina for a lot of years.

Someone has just screwed the Italians of the Roman Curia out of control of their own church - using an ethnic Italian from South America as a face-saver for the peninsula.

And somehow, I don't see Argentina as having enough support to get a Pope elected. So who were his REAL supporters? South America? Rubbish - 13 Cardinal-electors out of 115 - and why would the Brazilians with their 6 cardinals be so ready to support an Argentinean?

I smell the hand of Washington DC conservatives from the religious and intelligence sectors behind this Argentinean fig leaf. In a recent interview with the NYT, the Archbishop of New York predicted it would be a quick conclave and that the Pope would not be from the US.
As if American Catholics were really renouncing their intentions to conquer the Vatican so easily...

I think the Italians have just been out-foxed by American cardinals.

The Italian upper clergy sees as the most burning issue the plight of Christians in Arab lands (including the Holy Land) as well as Turkey, and cooperation/union with the Orthodox Church to meet the challenge of Muslim penetration in Europe. (I am not suggesting these trends are of any concern to me personally).
I fail to see how an Argentinean Pope can be of any use in addressing these issues. Other games are afoot here.

Thanks for bringing this up. These are lovely words. Words that all Argentinians would agree to. Perhaps he could help the world see the practices of a pirate European nation that has never ceased to steal from others.

Hello from an Italian in Trieste - the peninsula's most multi-religious city.

May I ask you how you think Bergoglio might address the issue of PEACEFUL relations with the Muslim world, yet at the same time defending the rights of Christian religious minorities in places like Syria? South America seems to me a very long way from understanding the intricate politics of the Middle East. Certainly Brazil's recent diplomatic forays with Turkey to defend Iran seemed a bit awkward and ill-informed.

I would remind you that Italy has signed two military treaties over the last 15 years with Israel - and that in recent months Israeli pilots have been training in Italy alongside American, Dutch, British, French and Italian pilots to prepare for air-strikes. (Against whom has not been said.)
We sit here in the Mediterranean across some delicate fault lines. What does Bergoglio understand about any of this?

What experience does Bergoglio have in dialogue with the Orthodox Church, where "negotiations" are at a very advanced stage?

In short, Pope Francis is different enough, in style and origin, to be credible as a "new broom" sweeping the Vatican stables clean. But some unpleasant dossiers are lying on his desk, and his window of opportunity will not last very long.

In long, and retrospectively, As Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina, he had shown a personal austerity that impressed people; he was happy to prepare his own meals and take public transport instead of employing the usual team of drivers and cooks. In a more substantial act of modesty, he led the Argentine church in apologising for its failure to take a more robust line against the military dictatorship.

Perhaps there is hope. A wise man said, "The essence of a being is revealed in the smallest minutiae."

The only regret, it would seem, is it may not be feasible for the cook to ride in public transport, unless incognito.

I personally think 76 is a good age. It takes a life-time of cooking one's own meals and riding in public transport to be in touch with both the world and one's own consicience. Some don't get there at age 106. A conscience that is in touch is what a good faith is about. Nothing is so complicated.

Jesuits, from what I could see in an early education that was Catholic, where I witnessad the good, the bad and the indifferent, are devoted to learning. learning about new things relevant to real life, that is, not digging the graveyard for more things to put in Tupperware. I hope self-critical learning will be the new scene in the Church that will emerge before the eyes of the world, eyes of the Church and not of the Church alike.

I don't know how it works in other countries, but there isn't any "The Catholic Church" in America. Financially, the dioceses are separate entities, and over here they are super broke between court settlements, declining contributions, etc.

A reformist ? He said when he was Archishop in Buenos Aires : Gay marriage is a "machination of the Father of Lies." "Adoption by gay people is discrimination against children". Words of wisdom from the new Pope who distanced himself from the liberation theology movement (the priests and nuns who actively opposed dictators and took risks for social justice). Cristina kirchner, President of Argentina, said the Catholic Church under his leadership in the country was reminiscent of "medieval times and the inquisition."

If you look above Bergoglio also said in quite nationalist terms that the Falklands are Argenintian so he shares the same view as her on that. On the gay issue your quite simply bigoted and I think you shouldn't be allowed to have children if you were to bring them up with that intolerance to others...

I'm all for marriage and equal adoption rights for gays as a matter of basic human freedoms but quoting a populist like Cristina Kirchner's opinion on a topic is probably not a great way to go if you're looking for credible references. Remember that this is a woman who has repeatedly fudged economic statistics and torn up international treaties, not to mention her raking up the Falklands issue as the economy falters.

I'm all for marriage and equal adoption rights for gays as a matter of basic human freedoms but quoting a populist like Cristina Kirchner's opinion on a topic is probably not a great way to go if you're looking for credible references. Remember that this is a woman who has repeatedly fudged economic statistics and torn up international treaties, not to mention her cynically raking up the Falklands issue as the economy falters.

The interesting thing is, I've learned French before English and I've never heard this expression. I did some googling to find examples of usage in French, but all I'm finding is references in dictionaries, not actual texts.

>The word origins are from the period of Middle French, which was spoken from 1340 to 1611.
In that case, many speakers of the language did swear loyalty to then King of England, particularly before 1429...

Once again the Catholics seem to have choosen well . A brillant intellect but humble. Did a good job in Argentina reforming a very conservative Church . Protected the poor and weak , a true pastor . Also a very good administrator which will be very useful in Rome right now ! Plus a good sense of humour and an ability to laugh at himself .

Though 76, it must be kept in mind that Pope John XXIII who was also 76 when elected was able to accomplish quite a lot in his few years as pope and gained a lot of respect for his work with the Jewish population and the second Vatican Council--we may see great things from him yet and shouldn't treat him as a placeholder just because of his age.

"Reform in the Catholic Church has typically come from the creation of new orders that, if not expelled, are eventually brought into the mainstream. St. Francis, the Jesuits, etc. Maybe that is what is required now."

Well, we don't have a new order. But we got the first Jesuit and the first Pope named after St. Francis. That speaks to reform.

"Does it make sense to elect a Pope that is 76 years old?"

That sounds more like a placeholder, a safe pair of hands for a while longer until a new course is charted.

Most Japanese highs school students know of St. Francis Xavier, because he was the first Saint to land on Japanese shores back in 1534.
Many are even required to remember about St. Ignatius Loyola as well for their exams...